- Okay, Brad, these muscles really affect your feet
- Um hmm.
and we're gonna reveal them in a minute.
- Well, you're really keeping them hanging there, Bob.
- That's right.
- We've got to get to these muscles sooner or later,
I'm taking my shoe off.
- Pew (laughs softly)
[Intro Singer] ♪ Bob and Brad
♪ the two most famous ♪
♪ physical therapists on the internet. ♪
(intro song ends)
- So we're talking about the gastrocnemius.
- Well, that's not even my foot.
- No, it's not.
And the soleus.
- So the calf muscles connect
to the ankle or the heel
- Right. If they're tight, what's gonna happen,
the foot has to compensate for that.
- Right.
- And it's gonna result in pain.
- So let's stretch it out.
- We've seen that a lot of times that, right?
So we'll show you how to stretch out.
- There you go.
- Five ways.
- Five.
(Wooshing sound as scene transitions)
- All right, Mr. Brad,
one of the easy ways
to loosen up the calves is a foam roller.
- So we're gonna do some soft tissue,
deep, soft tissue work.
- Right. And you know, I start with both legs.
- Yep.
- Because I get both and also it's less stressful.
- [Brad] So you just sit there like that.
- No, I'm gonna roll back forth.
- So you lift your butt off the ground,
so you got a little more weight through there.
- And my arms gotta take the weight.
- Yep.
- And you also wanna go to the side.
- Rotate the legs, so you get, yeah...
- And the other way.
- I know when I go to the side,
I get the lateral aspect.
- Right.
- That's when I get those tight knots.
- And then, yeah.
And then, if you want to increase it,
- Oooh!
Yeah, that really gets more aggressive.
Yeah. So now he's just doing the bottom one,
the left one there is getting that deep massage.
- Now, if you don't have a foam roller,
you could use a softball, lacrosse ball, tennis ball.
- I thought you were gonna say a soft ball
or a softball bat,
but no, just the ball.
That's pretty aggressive.
- It is.
- But you don't have to put so much weight through it.
- That's right.
- I think, you know, you could use a smaller ball, you know
a tennis ball or a hard ball.
But I think the bigger one works better
than the softball diameter.
- All right. We'll go on to number two.
(Wooshing sound as scene transitions)
- All right.
Back to the stairs, huh, Bob.
- All right, Brad's handy dandy stairs.
- Boy, you can stretch just about anything on 'em.
So here we go.
I'm gonna, it works much better
if you put shoes on, in my opinion
you get a little grip on the steps.
If they're not carpeted steps, it works easier.
And I'm gonna stretch like this
and you can see my knee is straight.
Use your body weight and relax and breathe
and just let that stretch out.
Hold it 15 to 30 seconds.
- [Bob] You might start with both.
- Yeah, that's definitely...
Yeah. Yeah.
- It's a little less stress.
- Yep. A little more efficient too,
if you're on a time budget, you know?
- Right.
- But one is obviously more aggressive.
- The two ones are
- So, straight knee
and then also do it with your knees flexed.
That gets the deeper Soleus muscle,
which is important to get that one separate.
So make sure you do straight and bent.
Hold it 10 to 15
up to 30 seconds if you like,
and you'll hit it.
- And then you could do single leg.
- Single leg.
Yes, absolutely.
- All right.
Number three.
(Wooshing sound as scene transitions)
All right, Brad,
for the next one, you just need a thick book.
- Yep. So we got about an inch, a little over an inch here.
"Vestibular Rehab."
- Right, there you go.
- Doesn't have to be that though (chuckles).
- Right.
- Put that on the floor by a wall.
And what we're gonna do is put our forefoot on that.
That elevates that forefoot,
makes a better stretch on the calf.
Again, straight knee, lean into the wall,
keep the heel on the floor.
Don't let it rise like that.
Just don't lean as far
when you get a good stretch, hold
and make sure you do it again.
I'll also do it this way, so you can see.
Flex the knee like that.
And again, it's much harder to get the heel
on the floor when it's...
when you're getting the soleus with a flex knee.
15 to 30-second hold.
Make sure you relax and breathe.
Let the muscles stretch.
- And now we're gonna share the best way.
- Oooh, the best. It's even more fun.
(Wooshing sound as scene transitions)
- All right.
Now I know this is self-serving.
- Yes.
- But my favorite gun is the Bob and Brad Q2.
- Q2. Q is in quality.
- As in cutie.
(both men chuckle)
- It is a really nice small gun, but
if you've got a gun that does the reciprocating motion
like this, it's...
- Up and down.
- Yeah. It's a great way to get into that muscle.
- And studies have shown, Brad,
that this does work. - Well, of course it works.
(Bob laughs)
More importantly, you'll find out.
I mean, it's just so nice to get into that muscle.
You can do this by hand actually,
if you wanna massage the muscles by hand.
But your fingers will get tired after a while,
and then you're grateful to have something
that does not get tired.
Yeah. And it's much more fun.
Oh yeah.
- And this is my favorite gun by far.
I've given away over 50 now!
- Right. And I think you should go for a hundred now.
- Ah, maybe I will.
- I haven't given away any yet and I'm not going to.
- I just gave one to my aunt and uncle.
- Oh really?
- Yep.
- This is really nice.
Could you zoom in on that?
That is a nice massage.
- I thought you were talking about your calf muscle.
- Oh no.
We're disgusted with that.
(Bob chuckles)
All right. Good.
- All right.
(Wooshing sound as scene transitions)
So Brad, we can fix about anything...
- ...Except for...
- ...a broken heart.
- Right.
And this has no relationship to the heart either,
but we'll keep working on it.
There, Bob's pretty good at,
whatever.
- Keep it together, right?
- All right. Be careful.
- Peace.
(Lighthearted tune plays)